Stone laminate panels can be made from a relatively thin stone veneer which has been bonded to a substrate, which can be a honeycomb core, honeycomb core panel, other core material or panel. Stone laminate panels can be employed for a variety of uses, including architectural cladding applications in order to utilize natural stone for a range of interior and exterior purposes. Using stone laminate panels can result in a substantial weight reduction, which can be in the order of about 60-80%, as compared to stone slabs. The lightweight nature of stone laminate panels, in contrast to stone slabs, can make them easier to install, because they can eliminate the need for heavy lifting equipment, and other challenges due to weight, during installation. In addition, buildings may not need to be designed to support traditional, and heavier stone slabs.
The starting point commodity for producing stone laminate panels is stone slabs. Stone blocks are mined in stone quarries and then cut into stone slabs, either close to the quarry or in facilities designed to create slabs, which can be located around the world. Stone slabs can be shipped in a wide variety of sizes, however, stone slabs are typically either 2 or 3 centimeters thick. Of course other thicknesses are also possible, and slab thicknesses of 4, 5, 6 or 7 centimeters, for example, can be obtained. As shipped from a quarry, stone slabs can be approximately from about 3 to 6 feet wide and from about 6 to 12 feet long. Stone slabs can weigh in the order of about 1,000 pounds each, which will vary depending on both the type stone as well as the slab dimensions.
As shipped from a slab processing facility, stone slabs should be flat on each side, however, perfect flatness is not guaranteed. In some uses, the flatness of a stone slab can be an important parameter to downstream operations. As a result, some stone laminate panel manufacturers process each received stone slab, so that each side is flat to within required specifications, as a preparatory step in manufacturing stone laminate panels. In addition, stone slabs can also be trimmed to a desired length and width prior to further processing.
In typical processing facilities a single stone stab is processed into two stone laminate panels. The process starts by bonding a substrate to each side of a stone slab to create a sandwich panel or panel assembly. Typically, an aluminum honeycomb substrate is used; however, other substrates can also be used. The finished product is made by cutting the sandwich panel in two to produce two stone laminate panels; each of the two stone laminate panels comprising a stone veneer typically of about 0.25 inch thickness, which remains bonded to the substrate. Depending upon the type of stone used in the stone laminate panel, and/or the intended application for the panel, the stone veneer thickness can vary.
The resulting stone laminate panels weigh less than the received stone slabs. Weight reduction can be a main goal in creating stone laminate panels as reduced weight can be advantageous for some applications. For example, when a stone finish is desired for the interior of elevator cars, reducing the weight of the stone used reduces the overall weight of the elevator car. This can result in a reduction in the inertial weight (including a reduction in the weight of the car's counterweight) that must be moved each time the elevator car moves. When used as a building facade, a panel with less weight results in a reduction in the required lifting capacity of construction cranes that are used to position the panels, as well as reducing the required robustness of the sub-structure and the fastening hardware required to retain the panels in place. Additionally, stone laminate panel shipment weight to a job site is reduced, as compared to shipping stone slabs, which often reduces the costs of transportation.
Sandwich panels are cut in two, one panel at a time. For cutting, panels are placed horizontally (the sandwich panel is laying flat during the cut) and a wire cutter, typically comprised of diamond beads on a cable core, is used. Each cut takes approximately 8 to 10 hours to complete depending on the stone and the size of the tool which makes the cut. Other cutting methods can also be used, but each method is limited to cutting a single sandwich panel at a time on a single machine, each taking many hours.
It would be desirable to provide a panel cutting method allowing for cutting of a plurality of panels.